--- title: What Is PCI Compliance? | daily.dev description: An overview of PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard), explaining what it is, who needs to comply, the four merchant compliance levels based on... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/what-is-pci-compliance--pt9i0ugok twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: What Is PCI Compliance? | daily.dev og:description: An overview of PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard), explaining what it is, who needs to comply, the four merchant compliance levels based on... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/what-is-pci-compliance--pt9i0ugok og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/PT9I0UgOK.png og:image:alt: What Is PCI Compliance? og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # What Is PCI Compliance? **[Teleport](https://daily.dev/sources/teleport)** · 11 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary An overview of PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard), explaining what it is, who needs to comply, the four merchant compliance levels based on transaction volume, the five-step process to obtain certification, and the twelve core security requirements businesses must meet. Concludes by promoting Teleport as a tool to simplify meeting access, authentication, and audit-related requirements. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What are the four PCI DSS compliance levels based on transaction volume? Level 1 applies to merchants processing over six million transactions per year, Level 2 covers one to six million, Level 3 covers twenty thousand to one million e-commerce transactions, and Level 4 covers fewer than twenty thousand e-commerce transactions or up to one million total Visa transactions. E-commerce merchants face lower thresholds due to higher fraud risk, and a prior data breach can escalate a merchant to a higher level. _Teams sorting out which PCI DSS level applies to them can track related security guidance on daily.dev._ ### What are the twelve PCI DSS security requirements? They include installing a firewall, avoiding vendor-default passwords, encrypting stored and transmitted cardholder data, using updated antivirus software, developing secure applications, restricting logical and physical access to cardholder data, assigning unique user IDs, tracking all access, regularly reviewing security systems, and maintaining policy documentation. Together these controls protect credit card data across the full transaction lifecycle. _Engineers building compliant systems can follow ongoing PCI DSS and security practices on daily.dev._ ### What steps does a business need to follow to get PCI DSS certified? Certification involves five steps: determine your PCI DSS level based on transaction volume, understand penalties for non-compliance, complete a self-assessment questionnaire, build and maintain a secure network including engaging an Approved Scanning Vendor for quarterly penetration testing, and file an Attestation of Compliance with the PCI SSC. A qualified security assessor should review the AoC before submission. _Developers preparing for a compliance audit can keep security and infrastructure guidance handy on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [PCI DSS explained for small merchants: a practical guide for UK SMEs](https://daily.dev/posts/pci-dss-explained-for-small-merchants-a-practical-guide-for-uk-smes-6fvchw5k6) · Security Boulevard · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Compliance work is overdue for a new approach](https://daily.dev/posts/compliance-work-is-overdue-for-a-new-approach-ywbtp4kry) · elastic · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [PCI-DSS Compliance Checklist for Android Apps](https://daily.dev/posts/pci-dss-compliance-checklist-for-android-apps-fxbijew6j) · ProAndroidDev · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Top 5 PCI Compliant Hosting Providers](https://daily.dev/posts/top-5-pci-compliant-hosting-providers-eu0jpk2dw) · Security Boulevard · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Cloud Database Compliance Certifications Explained](https://daily.dev/posts/cloud-database-compliance-certifications-explained-obe0ua4r4) · SingleStore · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#security](https://daily.dev/tags/security), [#fintech](https://daily.dev/tags/fintech), [#compliance](https://daily.dev/tags/compliance) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/what-is-pci-compliance--pt9i0ugok) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"What Is PCI Compliance?","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/what-is-pci-compliance--pt9i0ugok","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/what-is-pci-compliance--pt9i0ugok"},"datePublished":"2026-08-23T12:23:25.089Z","dateModified":"2026-08-23T12:52:59.251Z","description":"An overview of PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard), explaining what it is, who needs to comply, the four merchant compliance levels based on...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--VDukGCjf--/f_auto/v1722860399/public/Placeholder%2002","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--VDukGCjf--/f_auto/v1722860399/public/Placeholder%2002","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Teleport","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Teleport","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--Dw-Bbw6O--/c_limit,w_256/f_auto,q_auto/v1787487494/logos/teleport?_a=BAMAMicg0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/teleport"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/what-is-pci-compliance--pt9i0ugok","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"security,fintech,compliance","timeRequired":"PT11M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Teleport","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/teleport"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"What Is PCI Compliance?"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/what-is-pci-compliance--pt9i0ugok#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What are the four PCI DSS compliance levels based on transaction volume?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Level 1 applies to merchants processing over six million transactions per year, Level 2 covers one to six million, Level 3 covers twenty thousand to one million e-commerce transactions, and Level 4 covers fewer than twenty thousand e-commerce transactions or up to one million total Visa transactions. 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